Friday 27 September 2013

Source: Kenya mall attack suspect eyed after ammunition fell out of his pocket


By Nima Elbagir and Greg Botelho, CNN
updated 9:27 PM EDT, Thu September 26, 2013
Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists. Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists.

  • NEW: There's growing concern that some attackers escaped, U.S. officials say
  • The man was injured, being evacuated from Westgate Mall when authorities were tipped off
  • The Kenyan national is being held in a hospital on a military airbase, a Kenyan source says
  • At least 67 are confirmed dead in the Nairobi mall attack; dozens more still unaccounted for
Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- A man who cast himself as a victim of the recent attack on a Nairobi mall gave himself away as a possible suspect when a machine-gun magazine fell out of his pocket as he was being evacuated, a Kenyan counterterrorism source said Thursday.
This Kenyan national, who was injured in the ordeal, is currently being held in a hospital at a military airbase, according to the source.
It was not immediately clear if this man is one of the at least 10 individuals who Kenyan officials have said are in custody on suspicion of taking part in the Westgate Mall attack.
Photos: Kenya mourns mall shooting victims  
Photos: Kenya mourns mall shooting victims
Kenyan mall\'s destroyed parking deck  
Kenyan mall's destroyed parking deck
There is increasing concern that some perpetrators escaped the mall along with fleeing civilians, and thus remain at large, U.S. law enforcement officials say. U.S. forensic investigators were granted access to the ravaged mall on Thursday.
The onslaught began when militants stormed the upscale Nairobi shopping mall on Saturday, forcing shoppers and diners to run for their lives or scramble for safe hiding spots. It ended on Tuesday, by which time President Uhuru Kenyatta said authorities had overrun the gunmen and taken over the mall.
Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist group with links to al Qaeda, took credit for the carnage.
In addition to five terrorists, at least 67 people are confirmed dead in the attack. Officials fear that number could rise -- as many as 63 people are still unaccounted for -- as they sift through the rubble left from the collapse of three floors of the expansive facility.
CNN's Nima Elbagir reported from Nairobi; CNN's Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Evan Perez contributed to this report.

SOURCE: CNN